UVA PhD Engineering Student Wins Global Podcast Prize

In August 2017, Bethany Gordon took the top prize in the How to Change the World podcast competition held at the Global Grand Challenges Summit in Washington, DC.

Gordon, from Richmond, Virginia, is a PhD student in Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Virginia (UVA) School of Engineering and Applied Science. She bested over 150 other domestic, and international, students all of whom created their podcasts at the event.

Bethany Gordon, and second-place How to Change the World podcast competition winners Yun Gu and Katie Brown will receive fully-funded attendance at the 2019 Global Grand Challenges Summit in London, organized by the Royal Academy of Engineering.

Gordon, a member of UVA’s Tuff Armenia Project, has traveled to the country to “find and test local Armenian materials that may be integrated into construction and reduce the overall cost of building a home.” Read Gordon’s update on UVA’s Tuff Armenia Project.

The GGCS says its aim is “to spark global collaborations that lead to innovative ways of addressing critically important engineering challenges and opportunities and inspiring the next generation of change makers.”

Learn more about the National Academy of Engineering and the Grand Challenges Summits.